U.S. patent application number 09/826755 was filed with the patent office on 2002-10-10 for local on-hold information service with user-controlled personalized menu.
This patent application is currently assigned to International Business Machines Corporation. Invention is credited to Himmel, Maria Azua, Rodriguez, Herman, Smith, James Newton JR., Spinac, Clifford Jay.
Application Number | 20020146106 09/826755 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 25247447 |
Filed Date | 2002-10-10 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020146106 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Himmel, Maria Azua ; et
al. |
October 10, 2002 |
Local on-hold information service with user-controlled personalized
menu
Abstract
A telephone user sets up a "personalized" menu identifying a set
of information options from which he or she desires to select when
placed on-hold in a telephone system. The user's personal
preferences are then saved. When the party later makes a call to a
telephone system or is called, and then is placed on-hold, the
party's telephone service provider or local equipment accesses the
user's personalized menu and offers the one or more information
options as defined in the menu. In an illustrative embodiment, the
personalized menu options are voiced over the telephone line and
the user then makes selections using keypad (i.e. DTMF signaling)
or voice input. A response may be interrupted to make another menu
selection, or to repeat the current response. If the response being
played has not completed when the other party returns, that
response is suspended and may be completed when the user is placed
back on hold or the call is completed.
Inventors: |
Himmel, Maria Azua;
(Yorktown Heights, NY) ; Rodriguez, Herman;
(Austin, TX) ; Smith, James Newton JR.; (Austin,
TX) ; Spinac, Clifford Jay; (Austin, TX) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Duke W. Yee
Carstens, Yee & Cahoon, LLP
P.O. Box 802334
Dallas
TX
75380
US
|
Assignee: |
International Business Machines
Corporation
Armonk
NY
|
Family ID: |
25247447 |
Appl. No.: |
09/826755 |
Filed: |
April 5, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
379/215.01 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04M 3/487 20130101;
H04M 3/42068 20130101; H04M 3/4285 20130101; H04M 3/428 20130101;
Y10S 379/901 20130101; H04M 3/533 20130101; H04M 3/4211 20130101;
H04M 3/42153 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
379/215.01 |
International
Class: |
H04M 003/42 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method of using on-hold time during a telecommunications
session, comprising: responsive to detecting an on-hold status for
the first party, retrieving a menu of information options that has
been defined by the first party; responsive to detecting the
on-hold status, suspending, by means of an intervening system, the
telecommunications session; outputting the menu to the first party;
and responsive to selection of an information option, providing a
selected information service to the first party.
2. The method as described in claim 1 further including the step of
saving the first party's selection.
3. The method as described in claim 2 further including the step of
modifying the menu of information options based on the first
party's selections over a given number of on-hold sessions.
4. The method as described in claim 1 further including the steps
of: interrupting the information service to resume the
telecommunications session and connect the first party to a second
party; and selectively resuming the information service upon
completion of the call.
5. The method as described in claim 4 wherein the information
service is resumed upon the first party's request.
6. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the menu of
information options is defined by having the first party identify a
set of desired information sources at a web server.
7. The method as described in claim 1 wherein the menu of
information options is defined by having the first party identify a
set of desired information sources over a telephone.
8. The method as described in claim 1 further including the step of
selectively connecting the first party to a second party as a
function of a given information source selected by the first
party.
9. The method as described in claim 1 further including the step of
selectively delaying connection of the first party to a second
party until a given information source selected by the first party
is completed.
10. The method as described in claim 1, wherein the intervening
system is associated with a telephone service provider.
11. The method as described in claim 1, wherein the intervening
system is associated with equipment that is local to the first
party.
12. A computer program product in a computer useable medium for use
in a computer to provide an on-hold information service,
comprising: instructions for storing a personalized menu of
information options for a user; instructions responsive to
detection of an on-hold status for the user for retrieving the
personalized menu of information options; instructions responsive
to detection of the on-hold status for suspending, by means of an
intervening system, a telecommunications session with a second
party; instructions for outputting the personalized menu to the
user; and instructions responsive to selection of an information
option from the personalized menu for connecting the user's
telephone station set to a selected information source while the
user waits for the telecommunications session to be resumed.
13. The computer program product as described in claim 12 further
including means for saving the user's information option
selection.
14. The computer program product as described in claim 13 further
including means for modifying the user's personalized menu of
information options as a function of the user's information option
selections over a plurality of on-hold sessions.
15. The computer program product as described in claim 12 wherein
the station set is selected from a wireline telephone, a wireless
telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a computer
configured with telephone software and Internet connectivity.
16. The computer program product as described in claim 12 further
including means for selectively connecting the user's station set
to one of the second party and a third party as a function of the
selected information option.
17. The computer program product as described in claim 12 further
including means for selectively delaying resuming the
telecommunications session until output of a selected information
option is completed.
18. The computer program product as described in claim 12, wherein
the intervening system is associated with a telephone service
provider.
19. The computer program product as described in claim 12, wherein
the intervening system is equipment that is local to the first
party.
20. An on-hold information service connectable to a switching
system, comprising: a processor; storage; and a computer program
product executable by the processor, comprising: code for storing
in the storage a personalized menu of information options for a
user; code responsive to detection of an on-hold status for the
user for retrieving from the storage the personalized menu of
information options; code responsive to the detection of the
on-hold status for suspending a telecommunications session
associated with the user; code for outputting the personalized menu
to the user; and code responsive to selection of an information
option from the personalized menu for connecting a telephone
station set of the user to a selected information source while the
user waits for the telecommunications session to be resumed.
21. The on-hold information service of claim 20, wherein the
processor and computer program product are contained within
equipment associated with the telephone station set.
22. The on-hold information service of claim 20, wherein the
processor and computer program product are contained within a
private branch exchange (PBX).
23. The on-hold information service of claim 20, wherein the
processor and computer program product are contained within
centralized equipment of a telephone service provider and wherein
the centralized equipment is connected to the switching system.
24. The on-hold information service of claim 20, wherein the
storage is incorporated into a remote server connected to the
switching system.
25. A method of using on-hold time during a telecommunications
session, comprising the steps of: responsive to detecting an
on-hold status for a first party, determining whether the first
party has been placed on-hold previously; if the first party has
been placed on-hold previously, retrieving a set of one or more
information options that were selected by the first party while the
first party was on-hold previously; outputting to the first party a
personalized menu including at least one information option
selected by the first party while the first party was on-hold
previously.
26. The method as described in claim 25 further including the step
of prioritizing information options in the personalized menu as a
function of selections made by the first party while the first
party was on-hold previously.
27. The method as described in claim 25 further including the step
of releasing the user from the on-hold status when a second party
becomes available to communicate.
28. A method of using on-hold time during a telecommunications
session, comprising: responsive to detecting an on-hold status for
a first party, determining whether the first party has been placed
on-hold during a prior call attempt; if the first party has been
placed on-hold during a prior call attempt, outputting to the first
party a personalized menu including a set of one or more
information options that were selected by the first party while the
first party was on-hold during the prior call attempt; releasing
the first party from the on-hold status upon a given
occurrence.
29. The method as described in claim 28 wherein the given
occurrence is that a second party is available to communicate.
30. The method as described in claim 28 wherein the given
occurrence is that an information service selected by the first
party has completed.
31. The method as described in claim 28 wherein the given
occurrence is that the first party has selected a given information
option.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present invention relates generally to telephone call
on-hold information services and, in particular to techniques for
enabling a caller to personalize a menu of information services
that are made available when the caller is put on-hold in a
telephone system.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] It is well known in the prior art to provide information to
a caller who is placed on-hold in a telephone system. Typical
call-on-hold systems provide music or other audio messages to the
caller while he or she waits for the called party to answer the
call. These types of systems are in widespread use in telephone
call or contact centers. A "call center" is an organization of
people, telecommunications equipment and management software that
efficiently handles telephone-based customer contact. A
representative call center on-hold information service is described
in U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,439 to Walker et al. This patent teaches a
system for entertaining a caller placed in a queue of a call center
that allows the caller to access a plurality of entertainment
options while on-hold. The entertainment options permit the caller
who is on-hold to place a call to a third party, or to access one
or more premium entertainment services. In this system, a private
branch exchange/automatic call distributor (PBX/ACD) receives the
calls destined for the call center and queues the calls when an
appropriate call handling agent is not available. An interactive
voice response unit (IVR) prompts a caller for specific information
and forwards the collected information to the PBX/ACD. The IVR
provides the caller with a menu of available information options,
which can be accessed by the caller. After a selection is made, the
PBX/ACD establishes a connection between the caller and the
selected entertainment service.
[0005] The prior art provides other examples of telephone on-hold
information services outside of the call center environment.
Representative patents includes U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,875,231 and
5,946,378 to Farfan et al. These patents describe an on-hold
telephone service that allows a subscriber to place a call on-hold
and to make one or more information services available to the
on-hold party. The on-hold service can be implemented on a central
office switch or on an enhanced services platform connected to the
switch. The on-hold service is accessed by the subscriber to the
service through a transfer function that causes the call to be
maintained by the on-hold service. The party that is placed on-hold
by the subscriber (i.e. the called party) can then interactively
acquire the various types of information available from the
service, e.g., news, weather, stock market information, and the
like. The subscriber to the service can send a message to the
on-hold party to cause the on-hold party to selectively reconnect
to the subscriber upon receipt of the message or, later, when the
on-hold party is ready to do so. Other "on-hold" telephone systems
are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,444,774 and 5,920,616.
[0006] While "on-hold" systems such as described above are useful,
the on-hold party has only limited control over the content he or
she may select. That content is usually predetermined by the system
provider. As a consequence, the on-hold party is often forced to
listen to advertising or other informational messages that are
likely to be of little interest to the user, who, in effect, is
held hostage on the telephone line waiting for the called party.
Systems like those disclosed in the '439 patent to Walker et al.
provide somewhat more flexibility in that they allow the on-hold
party more choices, however, few callers will want to make a third
party call or will want to pay for premium entertainment services
as is contemplated thereby. The present invention addresses this
deficiency in known on-hold information services.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] A telephone user sets up a "personalized" menu identifying a
set of information options from which he or she desires to select
when placed on-hold in a telephone system. The user's personal
preferences are then saved. When the user later makes a call to a
telephone system or is called, then is placed on-hold, the user's
local telephone service provider or alternatively the user's own
telephone equipment detects that the user is on hold. The user's
local provider or equipment then suspends the call, accesses the
user's personalized menu and offers the one or more information
options as defined in the menu. In an illustrative embodiment, the
personalized menu options are voiced over the telephone line and
the user then makes selections using keypad (i.e. DTMF signaling)
or voice input. A response may be interrupted to make another menu
selection, or to repeat the current response. When the other party
returns, the user's local provider or equipment detects that the
returning party has returned, and resumes the call. If the response
being played has not completed when the returning party returns,
that response is suspended and may be completed when the user is
placed back on-hold or the call is completed.
[0008] According to a further technical advantage of the invention,
the particular options set forth in the user's menu may be
reordered or prioritized from time-to-time depending on selections
made by the user during prior "on-hold" sessions. This creates an
"active" menu that more accurately reflects the user's preferences
as the on-hold system is utilized. In a representative embodiment,
more frequently selected items in the menu are played before less
frequently selected items.
[0009] According to yet another technical advantage of the
invention, the user is allowed to select his or her preferences,
regardless of who (or what) the other party is.
[0010] The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent
objects and features of the present invention. These objects and
features should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of
the more prominent features and applications of the invention. Many
other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed
invention in a different manner of modifying the invention as will
be described. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding
of the invention may be had by referring to the following Detailed
Description of the Preferred Embodiment.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] The novel features believed characteristic of the invention
are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself,
however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and
advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the
following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when
read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0012] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the basic architecture of a
telephone system in which the present invention may be
implemented;
[0013] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a preferred technique by
which a user registers a personalized on-hold information service
menu;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a representative web page at which a user may
register his or her information option preferences to create a
personalized active menu for use in the on-hold information
service;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the on-hold information
service offering;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a menu adjustment routine
of the present invention; and
[0017] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a technique for
generating a personalized menu as a function of a user profile or
other identifying data.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0018] FIG. 1 is an illustrative network call or contact center
environment in which the present invention may be implemented. In
this environment, a caller (the "on-hold" party) at station set 102
waits in a queue of a call center. A station set may be embodied as
a conventional wireline telephone, a wireless phone, a personal
computer or other pervasive computing device configured with
appropriate telephony software and Internet connectivity, or the
like. A call is routed via telephone network 105 to the call center
100. The call center 100 may include a PBX switch 110 with
automatic call distribution capability. The PBX 110 may have an
interactive voice response unit (IVR) 112 associated therewith. The
PBX 110 and IVR 112 are well-known in the telephony art. The PBX is
a switching system designed to receive telephone calls destined for
call center 100 and to queue those calls when a call handling agent
is not available. The IVR 112 is a voice information system that
provides call prompting and DTMF tone and voice command detection,
among other conventional functionality. Call handling agents at the
attendant consoles 114 handle the calls following transfer from the
hold queues.
[0019] An on-hold information system 116 is embodied in equipment
operated by the caller's telephone service provider 117. On-hold
information system 116 comprises processor 118, disk storage 120,
system memory 122, system software 124, and application software
126, among other conventional computer resources. According to the
present invention, the on-hold information system 116 provides an
on-hold party the option of receiving a personalized active menu of
information options that may be selected by the on-hold party when
the party is placed on-hold by the call center 100. Unlike the
prior art, a menu preferably is defined by the on-hold party (as
opposed to the system operator, a service provider, the
"not-on-hold" party, or the like), and this menu may be modified
from time-to-time as the on-hold party uses the on-hold information
system 116 and associated service offering.
[0020] Although the on-hold information system 116 is illustrated
as equipment associated with a telephone service provider, this is
not a requirement of the present invention. One of ordinary skill
in the art will appreciate that the inventive functionality may be
built into the station set 102, into a standalone item of equipment
(not shown) associated with station set 102, or into a PBX
associated with station set 102. When the on-hold party's own
equipment is used, the equipment may retrieve up-to-date
information for delivery to the on-hold party from a remote server
(not shown) in communication with the on-hold party's equipment
through telephone network 105.
[0021] Moreover, the invention is not limited to use with a
telephone call center; rather, the inventive caller-controlled menu
functionality may be implemented to operate with any on-hold
information service regardless of the telephony environment. The
call center environment of FIG. 1 is merely illustrative.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of one illustrative method for
registering a user to the on-hold information system. Typically,
the registration (or "subscription") process is carried out
off-line, i.e. before the user accesses the telephone call center
and is placed within an on-hold queue. The routine begins at step
200 with the user accessing the information service to register his
or her initial preferences for the on-hold active menu. One
convenient technique is for the user to access a web page supported
on a web server. An illustrative web page 300 is shown in FIG. 3.
At step 202, the user is provided with a menu describing the
various information options that may be selected. The web page 300
in FIG. 3 illustrates various options including, for example: world
news, business news, sports, local news, health news,
entertainment, local weather, and the like. Each option has an
associated radio button that may be selected. Some options, e.g.,
local news or weather, have an associated listbox that may be
selected so that the user may select a particular city. One of
ordinary skill will appreciate that any type of convenient user
interface dialog may be used to enable the user to select a set of
options and thus personalize his or her "on-hold" menu. In this
example, the user has defined a personalized menu comprising world
news, sports, and Austin weather. At step 204, the user saves the
personalized menu, e.g., by selecting a SAVE button in the dialog.
The personalized menu is then saved or stored within the on-line
information system and service at step 206 to complete the
process.
[0023] The personalized menu may be built or defined by the user in
any other convenient manner. Thus, for example, an on-hold party
may become a subscriber to the on-hold information service by
registering over the telephone. Alternatively, the user may define
his or her personalized menu manually and forward the menu
selections to the service provider. Generalizing, a given menu
option is composed of a static prompt and a dynamic response. For
example, the static prompt may be "Press 1 for my portfolio quotes"
while the dynamic response would be the on-hold party's current
portfolio quotes. The on-hold information system has access to the
information sources that are identified in the set of menu options
that may be selected by the user. These sources may or may not
comprise part of the on-hold information system.
[0024] For instance, a user wishing to choose particular selections
of music might select an album of music from an existing list of
selections available from the service provider, the user might
direct the service to download the music from an external source,
such as an Internet site, or the user might simply upload his or
her own music files (such as MP3 format music files) to the
information service.
[0025] FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of the on-hold information
system. The routine begins at step 400 to test whether a user has
been placed on hold. When the outcome of the test at step 400
indicates that the user has been placed on hold, the routine
continues at step 402 to determine whether the on-hold party has a
personalized menu. If the outcome of the test at step 402 is
negative, the routine continues at step 404 to suspend the call and
provide the user with a default menu of on-hold information
options, including an option to exit the on-hold information system
and resume the on-hold call. Such a menu may be read in a manner
like this, "You have five information choices. You may choose an
option by pressing the appropriate number on your telephone keypad
or by saying the number. For stock quotes, press or say `one` . . .
"
[0026] This set of information options may be "intelligent" in the
sense that the list of menu options is tailored to the user as a
function of the user's telephone number. This functionality may be
provided by analyzing the user's telephone number using telephone
switching information used by the telephone service provider to
route the call through the telephone network, or as when the
on-hold system is implemented in the caller's own equipment,
through a priori knowledge of the caller's identity. The default
menu provided in step 404 thus may include options (e.g., local
weather, locale-based advertising, etc.) that may be relevant to
the on-hold party given that the on-hold party is in a given
locality.
[0027] In addition, advertisers or third-party service providers
who seek to gain from having particular information services
accessed by the user may pay the information service provider to
have their services listed first or with greater frequency across
users.
[0028] Rather than providing the default menu, the on-hold
information system may default to a registration script to enable
an unregistered or first-time user to register a personalized menu
as he or she is waiting for the given call to be completed. In
particular, once the user is placed on-hold, he or she may be
invited to register for the service. If the user desires to create
a personalized menu, he or she is prompted to select a set of
information options which then become the user's personalized menu
for the current call and, optionally, any of the user's future
calls that are placed on-hold regardless of whom the caller calls
or is called by.
[0029] If the outcome of the test at step 402 indicates that the
on-hold party has previously stored a personalized menu, the
routine continues at step 406 to suspend the call and retrieve the
on-hold party's menu that was previously stored within the system.
At step 408, the personalized menu is played to the on-hold party.
A test is then performed at step 410 to determine whether the
on-hold party has made a selection. If not, the routine cycles. If,
however, the on-hold party has made a selection, the routine
continues at step 412 to provide the information option. Typically,
the option is provided as a voiceover on the telephone line. The
voiceover may be a live radio broadcast or other information
service that was pre-selected by the on-hold party as indicated
within the party's personalized menu.
[0030] At step 414, a test is performed to determine whether the
returning party has returned. If not, the routine cycles. When the
outcome of the test at step 414 indicates the other (returning)
party has returned, the on-hold party is connected to the returning
party (e.g., a call handling agent). This is step 416. A test is
then performed at step 418 to determine whether the call has been
completed. If not, the routine continues to step 412 and cycles
while the two parties communicate. If the outcome of the test at
step 418 is positive, a test is performed at step 420 to determine
if the on-hold party desires to continue with the information
service. This test may be evaluated by providing a voice prompt to
the on-hold party. The voice prompts may be provided, for example,
using the IVR or some other voice prompting device. If the outcome
of the test at step 420 is positive, the routine continues at step
422 to resume the information service, preferably at the point when
the service offering was interrupted when the on-hold party was
connected to the returning party. If, however, the on-hold party
does not wish to return to the information service, the routine
terminates at step 424. This completes the processing.
[0031] The above-described processing, wherein the information
service optionally is resumed when the call is completed, may also
be a default operation when the on-hold party is again placed
on-hold during the call. According to another technical advantage
of the present invention, a user's personalized menu is modified
from time-to-time as a result of interactivity with the menu. This
functionality is illustrated in the flowchart of FIG. 5, which
illustrates a menu adjustment routine.
[0032] The routine preferably operates concurrently with the menu
option selection routine described above with respect to FIG. 4.
The menu adjustment routine begins at step 500 when the on-hold
information system retrieves a user's personalized menu. At step
502, the routine monitors for a user's selection of a particular
menu option. The routine then continues at step 504 to determine
whether the particular on-hold session has been terminated (e.g.,
completely finished). If not, the routine cycles. If, however, the
particular on-hold session has ended, the routine continues at step
506 to compare the user's selections during the session with prior
selections that have been made from the menu. Any convenient
correlation function may be used for this purpose. At step 508, a
test is made to determine whether, as a result of the correlation,
the user's personalized menu options should be reordered. If not,
the routine branches to step 510 and saves the personalized menu
unchanged. If, however, the result of the test at step 508
indicates that the menu should be modified, the routine continues
at step 512 to modify the menu. Thus, for example, if the routine
determines that a particular menu option (e.g., news about the
stock market) is always selected by the user, the menu itself may
be modified to list this option first when the menu is used in a
future on-hold session. Of course, one of ordinary skill in the art
will appreciate that the menu modifications will depend on the
particular correlation function used by the routine as well as how
often the user is placed on-hold. As more data is gathered, the
menu choices may be conveniently altered to provide more relevant
choices for the particular user. Preferably, more frequently
selected items are prioritized over less frequently selected items.
Returning now back to FIG. 5, after step 512, the modified menu is
saved for future use at step 514. This completes the
processing.
[0033] If desired, the personalized menu may be generated
"on-the-fly" as the on-hold party is placed on-hold as a result of
prior selections made by the user or other on-hold parties.
[0034] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating this technique, which
presumes that a database of each user's prior on-hold menu
selections (or some portion thereof) have been saved. The routine
begins at step 600 when a particular user is placed on-hold. At
step 602, a test is performed to determine whether the user has
previously been on-hold. If not, the routine branches to step 604,
suspends the call, which has been placed on hold, and returns a
default menu, optionally based on the user's telephone number. If,
however, the user has previously been on-hold, the routine
continues at step 606, suspends the call, and retrieves from the
database the on-hold party's prior on-hold selections. From these
selections, the routine continues at step 608 to generate a
personalized menu for the user. As with the default menu, this
generated menu may be composed and placed in order so as to favor
paying advertisers or third-party service providers. This menu is
then played to the on-hold party at step 610. At step 612, a test
is performed to determine if the on-hold party has made a
selection. If not, the routine cycles. Once a selection is made,
the routine continues at step 614 to provide the information
service. At step 616, a test is performed to determine whether the
returning party has returned. If not, the routine cycles. When the
outcome of the test at step 616 indicates the returning party has
returned, the on-hold party is connected to the returning party
(e.g., a call handling agent). This is step 618. A test is then
performed at step 620 to determine whether the call has been
completed. If not, the routine cycles. If the outcome of the test
at step 620 is positive, a test is performed at step 622 to
determine if the on-hold party desires to continue with the
information service. If the outcome of the test at step 622 is
positive, the routine continues at step 624 to resume the
information service, preferably at the point when the service
offering was interrupted when the on-hold party was connected to
the returning party. If, however, the on-hold party does not wish
to return to the information service, the routine terminates at
step 626. This completes the processing.
[0035] To properly suspend and resume calls as needed, and to
provide an on-hold party with the option of returning to the
on-hold information service even after completing call, the on-hold
information service preferably maintains status information
indicating whether a particular on-hold party is on-hold or
otherwise connected to the returning party. Any convenient data
structure (e.g., an array, a linked list, or the like) may be used
for this purpose. When a call is received and the on-hold party is
placed on-hold, the returning party's PBX (or other switching
system) sends an "on-hold" packet to the on-hold information
service. When the returning party returns, an "off-hold" packet is
sent to the on-hold information service. Alternatively, the
information service may analyze the telephone signal between the
two parties to determine the call status, by detecting, for
instance, periods of inactivity.
[0036] The on-hold information service provides numerous advantages
over the prior art. With the present invention, a user is allowed
to select options that are personally relevant when placed on-hold
in a telephone system. By defining the personalized menu in
advance, the user knows that he or she will be provided with
desirable information in the event of an on-hold situation. As
described above, the user can select from his or her own
personalized active menu of options, which provide useful
information, whenever the user is placed on-hold. While on-hold
during a telecommunications session, the user can continue
selecting useful menu options until the call is eventually
answered, and he or she can elect to resume the on-hold information
service even after the call is completed. The service provider
saves the user's prior selections in a profile that may then be
used to determine which menu options are offered to the user during
subsequent on-hold sessions.
[0037] The inventive on-hold information service takes advantage of
existing technology. Conventional IVR devices may be used to
provide voiceover prompts. Conventional voice recognition systems
and devices may be used to recognize control commands issued by an
on-hold party. The inventive routines preferably comprise computer
software routines that may be written in any convenient programming
language (e.g., Java, C++, or the like) for any convenient hardware
and operating system platform. As has been described, the inventive
functionality may be provided as a standalone on-hold information
service, or as an adjunct to an existing telephone switching
system, PBX, PBX/ACD, or other information system, service, device
or apparatus.
[0038] It is important to note that while the present invention has
been described in the context of a fully functioning data
processing system, those of ordinary skill in the art will
appreciate that the software processes of the present invention are
capable of being distributed in the form of a computer readable
medium of instructions and a variety of forms and that the present
invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of
signal bearing media actually used to carry out the distribution.
Examples of computer readable media include recordable-type media,
such as a floppy disk, a hard disk drive, a RAM, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs,
and transmission-type media, such as digital and analog
communications links, wired or wireless communications links using
transmission forms, such as, for example, radio frequency and light
wave transmissions. The computer readable media may take the form
of coded formats that are decoded for actual use in a particular
data processing system.
[0039] The description of the present invention has been presented
for purposes of illustration and description, and is not intended
to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed.
Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of
ordinary skill in the art. For instance, it is possible to have the
on-hold information system of the present invention disabled by the
user when communicating with particular parties, so that if there
is a party that provides its own on-hold information system, the
user can take advantage of it. The embodiment was chosen and
described in order to best explain the principles of the invention,
the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill
in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with
various modifications as are suited to the particular use
contemplated.
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